Teen: Kitten Killer a “Monster”

The kittens that meow and scamper throughout the living room of Janet Rodriguez’s Vineland, N.J. apartment started out as a litter of four. But just one month after they were born, only three remain -- because of an act of cruelty committed by Rodriguez’s friend, authorities said Monday.

“I think she’s a monster,” Rodriguez, 15, told NBC 10 News.
 
The 16-year-old girl stole the kitten, named Princess, Sunday afternoon while visiting Rodriguez at her home on North 7th Street, investigators said.
 
“(The friend) said she took the kitten to her own house and drowned it in the bathroom sink,” said Bev Greco, executive director of the Cumberland County SPCA.
 
The kitten was found on the ground outside the Vineland home of the girl’s foster parents, Greco said. No one answered the door when NBC10 went to the house Monday afternoon.
 
Police charged the teen, whose name is not being made public because she’s a juvenile, with theft and animal cruelty. SPCA officials said she confessed to the crime.
 
“What does that say about her mental state? That’s very frightening to think, at 16, that she’s capable of this type of a violent act,” Greco said.
 
The only explanation the teen gave for killing the kitten was that she did not want to go back to the foster home, Greco explained. The girl was being evaluated at a mental health facility in Bridgeton Monday evening.
 
“I do believe that this was a cry for help and I do hope the system fully addresses this issue because my fear is if it’s not addressed properly now, that it will escalate,” Greco said.

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